Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-08-05
Ex-TreaSurer Carroll
Heard From

On Thursday afternoon, sept. 9th,
1885, John M. Carroll, Treasurer City OF
Staunton, Treasurer of the Augusta Coun-
ty Fair, Treasurer of the Staunton Life
Insurance Company, a prominent member
OF the Methodist church, with the best
social connections, and who for fifty years
as boy and man, had had the confidence
and affection Of the community, took the
afternoon train for Richmond. He car
ried only a satchel with a change of cloth
ing in it, saying he would be back in day
or two. He registered at Ford's Hotel,
Richmond, that night, renamed there the
next day and the next night disappeared
into impenetrable mystery. ALI the efforts
of his friends, and they were great, failed
to find the slightest trace of him. He left
$4,000 in the National Valley Bank here
to the credit Of the city and left property
enough here TO cover all his Indebtedness
OF every character. The mystery was in
applicable and it gradually became to be
believed that he was dead. That he had
been dishonest was hard to believe, be-
cause IL he had been he could have so ar
ranged it as to have gone off rich man.
A week or two ago the City Council at
the request of Chief of Police j. H. Wa
tiers, gave him furlough for week. On
last Thursday night last Capt. Waters re-
turned. He had seen Carroll, who he
found quite sick, and said G. told him that
he intended to come to Staunton as soon
as he was well enough. Carroll said he
had never heard from Stanton SINCE he
left; never heard Of the sale of his proper
tY, never left any shortage in his accounts.
Ii was, he said. the first time that he knew
Of the proceedings by which his property
was sold by the State and city. lie pro-
posed to come back to Staunton and in
vestigate the matter to The bottom. He
had, he said, committed the great mistake
Of his life by leaving Staunton on account
ted. He at the same time sent state
ment to two lawyers here in answer to
certain questions propounded by them and
sent by Capt. Waters to him.
Capt. Waters said he had bound himself
not to say in what city he found Carroll,
and 80 our reporter could learn nothing
on that point from him.
A representative of the paper also yisi-
ted other quarters where the letter of C..
had been received but found they objected to
saying much of the contents of the letter.
The only part Of the contents he could get
was that Y. said he only took $500 away
with him and that was his own money OBJ
tanned from stock of the Valley Mutual
Association sold to John D. Crowle. Of
this $500 he paid 800 to the late W. G.
Eskridge of the National Valley Bank,
which he owed him, and the remaining
$500 he took with him. AT tie Bank this
statement was verified by one Of the Off
GERS. He said in his statement that when
he left Staunton he fully intended to re-
turn in a short time after some troubles
not pecuniary nor in any way connected
with his Office was over. When he got
away. for similar reasons he concluded to
stay. His answer, so our Informant says,
showed wonderful memory of how his
office accounts stood at the time he left.
He said a good deal more but IN view of
the facts that suits are now pending
about the matters Of his office our infor-
mant desired us to suppress it. Our
informant, who is lawyer, says there Is
no trouble about CAROLS coming back
and enforcing what right he has in the
disposition of his affairs. He could not
name the time Carroll would come but he
would certainly be here.
This is all that the INDICATOR re-
preventative could get Of the case outside
OF an obligation not to make public. There
is the most intense curiosity among the
people to know when Carroll will come,
whether under the law he can come atall
without undergoing prosecution, and what
he has to tell if he gets here. The general
Impression on the public mind is that Car
roll had not intended to make his where
abouts known and would never have done
SO but for his critical illness. 1t is stated
that his long illness had materially reduc-
ed his financeS-his occupation being that
OF clerk on salary. So far, except that
he is known to be alive, the Carroll mys-
terry is to the public as great as it was a
month after his disappearance.